Winter Markets Slow As School Holidays Begin

Weekly Real Estate Market Update with Leigh Martinuzzi MPG

The winter selling season is well and truly underway, which typically means fewer sellers coming to the market, at least in the southern states. On the Sunny Coast, with a climate that’s more temperate, we don’t see such a large changes in sales volumes from Winter to summer. However, last weekend we noted the start of the school holidays and found our open homes were a little quieter than they had been in the previous two weeks. The media is still pushing a fear agenda which is getting people concerned about rising inflation and interest rates. This continues to dampen the spirits of both buyers and sellers. With inflation currently sitting at 5.1% and the expectation that it will rise to 7% by the end of the year, the government wants to do what it can to slow spending. In real estate, it certainly seems to be having an effect.

Here is a brief outlook on our capital city property markets.

–      Brisbane had its first week in decline last week, recording a -0.2% drop in prices. Prices for June are up 0.2% and, in the last 12 months, up 26.1%. Brisbane continues to lead the way in property price growth.

–      Sydney continues to see prices decline last week recording a -0.6% drop and down -1.5% for the month so far. Prices are up 6.5% year-on-year.

–      Melbourne saw prices decline a further -0.4% last week with prices down -1% for June and up just 3.5% for the year.

In the past four weeks, we’ve seen more properties being listed for sale, giving buyers more choice and depleting buyer urgency. With the market now stabilising, and even suggestions it will decline further, buyers are no longer driven by FOMO, and there is definitely a feeling of a loss of urgency amongst buyers. Although numbers are down and the number of offers being presented is about half, sales time on the market is still relatively low. A-grade properties are scarce and therefore are still attracting good prices quickly.

The national median property price across Australia is now slowing and currently sits at $752,507 (houses and units). It is still more affordable to buy regionally by looking at the current median dwelling price of $597,074 compared to the combined capital median price of $829,390. This is perhaps why regional growth is still outperforming our capital cities as more people find better value and affordability in our regional centres. In the three months to the end of May, regional growth was 3.4% compared to capital cities of just 0.4%. The median house price across our 8 Capital cities is $1,069,000.

The Sunshine Coast has been tracking above Brisbane for price growth since the start of the pandemic. Property prices in Brisbane have risen by about 6% this year, while on the Sunshine Coast, prices have climbed by an average of 7% to 8%. The combined median dwelling price for houses and units is said to be sitting just under $1M on the Coast. CoreLogic has indicated that while we are still attracting premium prices on the Coast, the time on the market has slowed from an average of 14 days to about 27 days.

Auction clearance rates were recorded at 65.4% last week, which is slightly up on the previous week yet right down from this time last year recorded at 82.5%. Sellers are losing confidence and making decisions to sell prior to auction to avoid the risk of missing out on their premium buyer. A telltale sign that the markets are starting to balance in favour of both buyers and sellers.

 AUCTION CLEARANCE RATES (PRELIMINARY). WEEK ENDING 26TH OF JUNE 2022

• Queensland – 58% (117/1244)
• NSW – 53% (432/1466)
• Victoria – 54% (591/1191)
• ACT – 55% (78/83)
• South Australia – 69% (80/332)
• Tasmania – 0%(0/151)
• Western Australia – 50% (5/703)
• Northern Territory – 100% (2/32)

*(Auctions/Private Sales)

REVIEW(S) OF THE WEEK 

You can see why he performs so well!

“Leigh is really good at what he does. From the word go he carries himself like a professional and seems to dedicate himself single mindedly to getting a good outcome for everyone. Other real estate agents seem to have heard of him and know he does really good work. His flyers say #1 in the area and if you look at the numbers I’m sure it’s true.” – Hunchy Seller

Great communication & service.

“Leigh was great throughout our home buying experience. He was very knowledgeable about the home we were purchasing & the general area. Shelley and I highly recommend Leigh. If you are thinking of purchasing or selling in the area make sure you give Leigh a call first.” – Palmwoods Buyer